Bloomberg to Coal Miners: We Can Find Other Things for You to Do

"The truth of the matter is that there aren't very many coal miners left anyways, and we can find other things for them to do," Bloomberg said.

By NTK Staff | 05.24.2018 @2:08pm

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and possible 2020 presidential candidate attacked the 53,000 Americans who are employed by the coal industry during a recent discussion at the International Monetary Fund on Thursday.

Americans for Tax Reform obtained video of Bloomberg telling Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, that “we should tax the poor,” and saying, “We can find other things for” coal miners to do other than mine coal.

“So, I listen to people saying, ‘Oh, we don’t want to tax the poor.’ Well, we want the poor to live longer so that they can get an education and enjoy life. And that’s why you do want to do exactly what a lot of people say you don’t want to do,” Bloomberg said. “The question is, do you want to pander to those people? Or do you want to get them to live longer?”

“So, it’s like saying, ‘I don’t want to stop using coal because coal miners will go out of work, will lose their jobs.’ We have a lot of soldiers in the United States in the U.S. Army, but we don’t want to go start a war just to give them something to do, and that’s exactly what you’re saying when you say, ‘Well, let’s keep coal killing people because we don’t want coal miners to lose their jobs,'” Bloomberg said. “The truth of the matter is that there aren’t very many coal miners left anyways, and we can find other things for them to do. But the comparison is: a life or a job. Or, taxes or life? Which do you want to do? Take your poison.”

Turner pointed out to NTK Network that Bloomberg’s claim about the number of coal miners in America isn’t true.

“The Labor Department estimates around 53,000 people work in the industry, up 3,000 from January 2017,” Turner said. “And when you add second- and third-tier jobs tied to these 53,000, like manufacturing, service and food industry, etc., the coal industry employs thousands more.”

“What coal workers do, Mayor Mike, is provide this nation with inexpensive, reliable, abundant energy that turns on your espresso machine and boils the water for your steam shower. If the elevator in your home is working, if the blinds in your study are closing automatically, if the smart features in your home are adjusting automatically, it’s because there are 53,000 men and women working hard, with dirt under their nails and sweat on their brow,” Turner said in a blog post on Power The Future. “You are too obnoxious, too arrogant, and too incredibly obtuse to even recognize their contribution to our society. “